Maharashtra: 4 more cops test positive, tally 7 in state

The two officers – a sub-inspector and a senior inspector – who have tested positive are posted in Mumbai and Thane city, respectively. The five others, who are constables, serve in the Mumbai Police and the Mumbai Railway Police.

According to figures released by the state police on Monday, five officers and 42 constables in Mumbai and Thane, who had come into close contact with the infected personnel, have been placed under home quarantine. (Representational Image)

Four more police personnel tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday, taking the tally of infected policemen in the state to seven. A total of 47 personnel, who had come in close contact with the infected, are currently in home quarantine.

The two officers – a sub-inspector and a senior inspector – who have tested positive are posted in Mumbai and Thane city, respectively. The five others, who are constables, serve in the Mumbai Police and the Mumbai Railway Police.

A senior Mumbai Police officer said that a constable living in the police headquarters at Naigaon, Dadar, tested positive on Monday night. “At least three policemen were on sick leave when they tested positive while the senior inspector in Thane city was on active duty. The possible source of infection of the other three personnel is being determined,” said a state police officer.

According to figures released by the state police on Monday, five officers and 42 constables in Mumbai and Thane, who had come into close contact with the infected personnel, have been placed under home quarantine.

However, a senior Mumbai Police officer claimed that the number of these personnel was likely to be much higher. “We have quarantined an entire four-storey building in the Worli Police Camp and at least 80 constables in Naigaon following after the positive case was detected on Monday. The number of those under home quarantine in Mumbai is at least 200,” the officer added.

The state police has equipped personnel policing containment areas with face shields, in addition to deploying sanitisation vans and installing sanitisation corridors in several police stations. “We have asked our men and women on the field to keep washing their hands frequently. If that isn’t possible, hand sanitisers are available,” said the state police officer.